Maruti Suzuki India Ltd has officially launched the Wagon R, marking India’s debut flex-fuel car engineered for seamless compatibility with ethanol-blended fuels ranging from E20 to E100, a significant step towards national energy security and sustainability.
Photograph: Courtesy. HardeepSPuri/twitter
Key Points
- Maruti Suzuki has launched the Wagon R, India’s first flex-fuel car, designed to run on ethanol-blended fuel from E20 to E100.
- The flex-fuel Wagon R features advanced ECU calibration, allowing it to adapt to various ethanol-petrol blends.
- Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari highlighted that flex-fuel vehicles will reduce India’s crude oil import dependence and strengthen the rural economy.
- Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri emphasised that flex-fuel vehicles are a win-win, reducing imports, saving foreign exchange, lowering emissions, and creating rural opportunities.
- Maruti Suzuki is committed to offering diverse fuel technologies, including BEVs, Hybrids, CNG/CBG, and ethanol flex-fuel vehicles, to meet India’s energy and environmental objectives.
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd on Thursday launched India’s first flex-fuel car, Wagon R, engineered specifically for ethanol-blended fuel compatibility.
A flex-fuel car gives the flexibility to customers to run on any blend of ethanol and petrol from E20 to E100.
The car comes with advanced ECU calibration capable of adapting to any ethanol blend between E20 (20 per cent ethanol-blended petrol) to E100 (which would allow vehicles to run on nearly pure ethanol).
Pioneering Alternate Fuel Technology
Maruti Suzuki in a statement said it is introducing flex-fuel technology in the Wagon R, a favourite brand that has long pioneered alternate fuel vehicles in the country, including CNG and LPG.
With the launch of India’s first flex-fuel car, Maruti Suzuki said it is bringing innovation aligned with national energy security and sustainability goals.
Speaking at the launch event, Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari said India imports a large quantity of crude oil every year, and biofuels like ethanol are an important pathway towards reducing this dependence while strengthening our rural economy.
“Flex-fuel vehicles can create a strong and sustainable demand for ethanol, benefiting our farmers, industry, and the environment together,” Gadkari added.
Government Support for Ethanol Adoption
The minister said he is confident that the initiative will encourage other car manufacturers to launch their flex-fuel models and oil industry to enhance ethanol distribution infrastructure.
Also, speaking at the event, Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said India’s ethanol journey is unstoppable.
“We have transformed our farmers from ‘annadatas’ to ‘urjadatas’, while strengthening India’s energy security,” Puri said.
The minister said flex-fuel vehicles are a win-win for the nation — reducing crude oil import dependence, saving valuable foreign exchange, lowering emissions, and creating new opportunities for rural prosperity.
Maruti Suzuki’s Commitment to Green Mobility
Maruti Suzuki India Limited Managing Director & CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said, “At Maruti Suzuki, we are committed to offer cars with multiple technologies and fuels.”
He said the company is introducing BEVs, Hybrids, CNG/CBG and ethanol flex-fuel vehicles to meet India’s twin goals of reducing oil import and carbon emissions.
According to him, the ecosystem for ethanol as a fuel in India is in its early stages.
In addition to a significant reduction in oil imports, flex-fuel vehicles can also help to boost farmer income, he added.
